BERRUYER, JOSEPH ISAAC:

French Jesuit; born at Rouen Nov. 7, 1681; died at Paris Feb. 1758. He was the author of a work entitled "Histoire du Peuple de Dieu," Paris, 1728, a history of the Jews from the earliest times to the birth of Jesus, according to the Bible, and a critical study of the Gospels and the Epistles. This work, written in a non-religious spirit, and interspersed with hazardous observations, provoked the indignation of the Church leaders. The discussions it called forth made it popular, and numerous editions and translations of it appeared.